New Delhi: In the last 2.5 years, IndiGo Airbus A320 Neos have on an average seen one faulty Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines powering these planes being changed every week. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has in a RTI reply said 126 PW engines on IndiGo Neos have been replaced from 2016 to June 30, 2019. The almost once-a-week average of faulty engine replacement comes with 46 engines being replaced in calendar years 2017, 2018 each and 27 in the first six months of this year (remaining 7 in 2016). The reply details how some engines had to be taken off wings for replacement after flying for as less as 37, 59 and 69 hours.
With 430 A320/21 Neos on order, IndiGo is the world’s largest customer for this aircraft. The airline inducted its first PW-powered A320 Neo on March 11, 2016, and at present has 92 of these planes. GoAir, which has 144 A320 Neos on order, currently has 35 PW-powered Neos. The DGCA RTI reply is for IndiGo Pratt engine replacements alone and does not include figures for GoAir.
The PW engines for A320 Neos have been snag-ridden from 2016 itself. Possibly for this reason IndiGo recently opted for engines from PW competitor, CFM, for 280 Neos. Recurring snags along with the fact that India is home to the largest customer airline for the Neo — IndiGo — meant that DGCA had to prescribe more stringent checks of these engines to ensure safety.
“The high number of engine replacement is due to India’s prescribing thorough (borospic) checks of Neos’ PW engines. It is not all these 126 engines were replaced after developing snags inflight or when preparing for a flight. Many snags that led to engine replacement were revealed during checks on ground,” said a senior DGCA official. The regulator says in 2017, 2018 and 2019 (up to August), IndiGo and GoAir have seen 19 PW engine snags like in-flight shut down, air turn back, rejected take off on their Neos caused by faulty main gear box and low pressure turbine.
31/08/19 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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With 430 A320/21 Neos on order, IndiGo is the world’s largest customer for this aircraft. The airline inducted its first PW-powered A320 Neo on March 11, 2016, and at present has 92 of these planes. GoAir, which has 144 A320 Neos on order, currently has 35 PW-powered Neos. The DGCA RTI reply is for IndiGo Pratt engine replacements alone and does not include figures for GoAir.
The PW engines for A320 Neos have been snag-ridden from 2016 itself. Possibly for this reason IndiGo recently opted for engines from PW competitor, CFM, for 280 Neos. Recurring snags along with the fact that India is home to the largest customer airline for the Neo — IndiGo — meant that DGCA had to prescribe more stringent checks of these engines to ensure safety.
“The high number of engine replacement is due to India’s prescribing thorough (borospic) checks of Neos’ PW engines. It is not all these 126 engines were replaced after developing snags inflight or when preparing for a flight. Many snags that led to engine replacement were revealed during checks on ground,” said a senior DGCA official. The regulator says in 2017, 2018 and 2019 (up to August), IndiGo and GoAir have seen 19 PW engine snags like in-flight shut down, air turn back, rejected take off on their Neos caused by faulty main gear box and low pressure turbine.
31/08/19 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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